Of the fires FEMA reports, 85% involved towable units rather than motor homes. This likely reflects the sheer difference in numbers—manufacturers sell about ten towable units for every motor home. What are some of the things that can cause these fires?

When Traveling:

While Traveling mechanical and electrical issues make up 75% of RV fires:

This includes brakes that mechanics or owners fail to adjust properly. The same is true of wheel bearings causing them to overheat. These fires start at the wheel well while traveling. Infrared heat guns are a very easy way to measure your wheel heat during refueling or rest stops. Also, many Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems measure tire heat as well as tire pressure.

Wires that short out while traveling – always inspect your wiring before any trip.

Obviously it is safest to drive with your propane tanks turned off. Most LP refrigerators will stay cold for hours while off. Now with more and more 12 volt refrigerators being installed in RV’s, this is less of an issue but the majority of RV’s are still using LP.

While you are camping:

Never leave appliances, lights, fans, fireplaces, etc., running while unattended.

If you are leaving pets behind when you are camping I highly recommend the MarCELL temperature monitor. Having the cellular device alerts you if there is a power outage. It also alerts you if a temperature situation occurs above or below the parameters that you set. I primarily bring this up because a power outage can also be lethal to a pet in an RV. In the summer a power outage in an RV is similar to leaving your pet in a car with the windows rolled up.

Invest in an Electrical Management System (EMS) like those manufactured by Progressive Industries. Surge protection will protect your trailer in the event of an unexpected electrical surge or lightening strike nearby. Our MarCELL unit has protected our trailer more than once.

Do not overload any circuit. Many people plug portable heaters into power-strips and they are not rated for that type of current draw, causing the wires to melt. Always plug directly into an outlet and remember not to overload the capacity because more than likely, there are other items running on that same circuit.

Make sure your CO2 detector, propane leak alarm, and all smoke detectors work. They will save your life.

Don’t store anything flammable near your cooking surfaces.

Buy at least one extra fire extinguisher. The small ones that come with your travel trailer are probably woefully undersized. Having one in each room is a safe practice.

Understand how your emergency exit windows operate and how to get out in a hurry. It is probably a good idea to conduct a drill to see how quickly you can open these windows.

Have an exit plan for each area of the Travel Trailer. These fires spread quickly, there is no time to come up with a plan once the fire starts.

Know your exact location so you can give this info to the emergency dispatcher in the event of a fire.

During the year:

Stay up to date on any recalls. For example, in the last few years there have been recalls on Propane Regulators, Wiring, Refrigerator wire shorts, and fires behind Convection Microwaves. These are not recalls to ignore.

Maintain your mechanical items like brakes and wheel bearings. Also do the preventative maintenance on your AC Units, Furnace, Water Heater, and Refrigerator. If something doesn’t seem like it is running correctly get it checked out and repaired.

In the event of a fire:

If it is a small fire that you can easily extinguish without placing yourself in danger, then use your fire extinguisher. For any other situation, immediately leave the RV. Once you have exited, do not re-enter.

Call 911 and give them your exact location. If other RVs are close to you alert them so they can evacuate as well.

In conclusion: This isn’t a pleasant topic and not one I write to instill any fear, just precaution. Your odds of a fire are small, and even smaller yet if you keep the above in mind.

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When Tammy and I bought our first Travel Trailer the only thing we really had to worry about was the tiny fridge and furnace.  Both had a relatively simple design so there really wasn’t much that could go wrong.  Through the years we traveled with little concern about what could happen if we encountered a power surge.  In fact, we were oblivious to the issue of power surges.

Now travel trailers have massive entertainment features.  This includes flat screen TV’s connected to an entertainment system that has blue tooth technology,  DVD/stereo systems,  air conditioners, water heater,  furnace, large control panel,  electric recliners, electric awnings, and more.

Much like automobiles the cost to just diagnose the problems are incredibly expensive.  Then to replace damaged items adds further to the cost;  not to mention other issues that might need to be addressed like wiring.

Our house took a close lightning strike a few years ago and it destroyed our internet booster and our flat screen TV.  We were lucky that nothing else like computers were damaged (they had wall surge protection).  This year my friend down the street had lightening hit in his front yard.  The power surge destroyed his garage door opener, water heater mother board and fan, satellite wiring, and a flat screen TV.

Aside from a lightning striking near your camper, there are other situations that are just as dangerous.  Voltage fluctuations at campgrounds, power surges;  and incorrectly wired shore power outlets will all cause the same sort of damage to your rig.  When you plug into your campgrounds power you are taking a “Faith Trip” that everything will be alright.  Any surfing of RV forums will tell you that there are plenty folks that had power issues at campgrounds that damaged their rigs.  Your odds of an electrical issue at a major campground chain may not be as bad as a county or state campground.  However it will still be a roll of the dice.

A really good hard-wired or portable surge protector is expensive.  However not nearly as costly as replacing a refrigerator or furnace in your RV.  Not only will you have the cost to diagnose and replace items, you will have the inconvenience of living without the item until you can get it repaired.  Add to your inconvenience the time it will take to do the repair.  Replacing refrigerators and water heaters are not easy or quick repairs.

There are cheaper surge protector models that provide one-time protection, and then afterwards they are basically trash and you need to buy another unit.

After a lot of research we landed on the Progressive EMS-PT50X Surge Protector.  It’s a portable Electronic management system that protects against the following issues:

Reverse Polarity Protection

Open Ground Protection

Open Neutral Protection

High Voltage Protection (Surge)

Low Voltage Protection

High Frequency Protection

Low Frequency Protection

Provides Amperage Usage Reading

In addition, it is manufactured here in the US and has a lifetime warranty.

We have already had one power surge that it protected us from at a state campground, and we always have it plugged in at home because this neighborhood seems to be a lightning magnet.

We strongly recommend that you purchase an EMS system versus a regular surge protector because of all the extra protection it offers.  If I were to do this again I might have purchased the hard-wired unit as I think it’s probably easier to install it once instead of plugging in at each campsite.

This is our EMS-PT50X Surge Protector by Progressive Industries.

To read more about what Progressive Manufacturing has to offer, click the link below.  Progressive is not paying us to promote their product, I wish they were!  We just think it’s a great value for what protection it provides.

To look at what Progressive industries has to offer, click here.

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